Just when we were hoping the unhealthy-barbecued-greasy-slithery-slab-meat-of-a-sandwhich, which is better known as the McRib, was NEVER coming back, it's here again… and just in time for the holidays!!

Due to concern over the cruel confinement of pigs at Smithfield Farms (the suppliers of the pork for the McRib), the HSUS has served the farm with a legal demand for records documenting the pig's conditions.

They believe Smithfield has broken their promise to stop confining pregnant mama pigs in crates for nearly their entire lives.

The pigs are impregnated over and over again for the course of their lives to keep a steady flow of pork coming through the farm.

Smithfield farms said in 2007 they would stop using the crates in ten years. They took back that promise in 2009, citing economic reasons. But recently they have been constantly growing as a company.

A rep for the HSUS said:

"Smithfield has refused to answer basic questions about when it will finally get rid of gestation crates. If Smithfield is truly committed to ending its practice of locking pigs in cramped cages that prevent them from even turning around for months on end, it should produce the records that prove it."

As a shareholder in Smithfield, the HSUS has the legal right to inspect corporate records and review data directly.

Let's hope they get to the bottom of this so we can finally save the pigs.

America seems to be lovin' the McRib, mostly because it plays hard to get and only appears periodically, but we bet the sandwich would lose a few fans if they learned what chemicals are inside of it.

Among the 70 ingredients you'd only find in a chemistry lab, one is BANNED from Europe and Australia as a food additive!

Azodicarbonamide is a flour-bleaching ingredient chemical found in the McRib's bun, which is also used to manufacture foamed plastics like in gym mats and the soles of shoes.

Mmm…yummy?

Even more disturbing than knowing what else the chemical is used for, azodicarbonamide has been determined by England's Health and Safety Executive to be a "respiratory sensitizer" that potentially contributes to asthma through occupational exposure!

As much as we love eating things we can barely pronounce, we'll be skipping the McRib next time we stroll through the golden arches.

The always elusive McRib has somehow slithered its way back into the McDonald's menu at select locations throughout the country, and although it's no secret to most that no, it's actually not a real rib, one may surprised to find out exactly what's in it - and how unhealthy it truly is!

According to the fast food joint's website, there are 70 ingredients in the sandwich - 34 in the bun alone - which include ammonium sulfate, polysorbate 80, and azodicarbonamide, which is a flour-bleaching agent most commonly used in the manufacturing of foamed plastics and the soles of shoes!

And if that isn't incentive enough, one contains 980 mg of sodium, more than half your recommended daily intake, and 10 g of saturated fat!

While the country was rocked by the midterm elections yesterday, the biggest news of the day had nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with juicy pork slathered with BBQ sauce and gently placed in between two buns.

We’re talking about the McRib — it’s back!

While we normally wouldn’t endorse fattening McDonald’s food, we might make an exception for the McRib. If you can squeeze a little unhealthiness into your diet, go grab a McRib! If nothing else, do it for nostalgia’s sake!